Lewis & Clark’s program for beginning educators in middle and high school (grades 5-12) is focused on education and adolescent development and learning. One of the unique features of the program is our emphasis on pedagogical content knowledge. Accordingly, beginning educators specialize their study in one of the following content areas:
Art
Lewis & Clark also prepares you to be a researcher in your own classroom. These two key features—attention to subject-area pedagogy and research—are critical foundations that will help you serve the needs of learners and keep you intellectually engaged throughout your career.
Another distinguishing feature of our program is the yearlong practicum experience. The practicum prepares you to:
• Meet the needs of adolescents in ways that honor and extend their experiences as well as to enhance beginning educators' and adolescents' capacity to solve problems
• Develop strategies that support the creation of democratic learning communities, drawing on research in theory and best practices
• Cultivate connections between learners and the world beyond the classroom
• Incorporate a range of teaching and technological resources
In all our work, we honor the work of John Dewey in emphasizing the importance of being a student of teaching.
